Healeys Return to Bonneville

Donald Healey himself drove the Streamliner to a top speed of 192.74 miles per hour at Bonneville in 1954.photo courtesy Healeys Return to Bonneville

Back in 1953 and 1954, Donald Healey mounted an assault on the record books at Bonneville with a pair of cars: one built for long-distance endurance records, the other built for maximum speed in a straight line. This fall, a group of enthusiasts is hoping to recreate those record runs with recreations of those two cars.

The Healeys Return to Bonneville Challenge began when Dutch Austin-Healey enthusiast Wiet Huidekoper discovered the casing for the original Aston Martin gearbox used in the pre-production 100S endurance car. Wiet and Australian Healey expert Steve Pike hatched a plan to recreate both cars and relive the events of 1954 at Bonneville. Belgian enthusiast Bruno Verstraete then became involved, taking on responsibility for the construction of the endurance car.

The team has been helped by the involvement of Gerry Coker, who designed the cars. The Return to Bonneville Challenge is aiming to be on the salt flats for the World of Speed event, scheduled for September 16-19, 2009. To follow the teamâ€™s progress, sign up to receive their free e-newsletter at www.healeysreturntobonneville.com.

(This post originally appeared in the July 9, 2009, issue of the Hemmings eWeekly Newsletter.)